Chipotle Mexican Grill is investing in sustainable and innovative approaches to food. Especially with investment strategy for Cultivate Next, the fast food chain’s first venture fund.
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced this month its latest investments in Hyphen and Meati Foods. Hyphen is a robotics company focused on foodservice technology, and Meati is a plant-based protein product cultivated from mushroom roots.
Cultivate Next, Chipotle’s venture fund, intends to make $50 million in early-stage investments over the next few years. Companies selected for the cohort will be strategically aligned to Chipotle’s Mission to “cultivate a better world.” Both Meati and Hyphen were selected for their use of cutting-edge technologies for sustainable development in the foodservice industry.
Hyphen
Hyphen is a foodservice platform designed to help restaurant owners move their business forward by automating kitchen operations. The company’s first product is The Makeline. It utilizes advanced robotics and a customized operating system to give busy kitchens a reliable way to fulfill orders.
“Hyphen is reimagining the intersection between makelines and digital kitchens, with a focus on improving speed and order accuracy,” said Curt Garner, Chief Technology Officer at Chipotle. “Their use of robotics to enhance the employee and guest experience to find efficiencies in the restaurant industry aligns with our mission of leveraging emerging technology to increase access to real food.”
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“Chipotle’s investment in Hyphen will accelerate our hiring plans; allowing us to invest more heavily in R&D, all while providing the necessary infrastructure to scale sustainably,” said Stephen Klein, Co-founder and CEO of Hyphen. “We’re thrilled to work with Chipotle to find more innovative solutions by removing repetitive tasks from the employee experience so they can focus on creating delicious dishes and providing outstanding hospitality.”
Chipotle is already integrating advanced robotics and AI-driven technologies in their restaurants. Their latest test is of the autonomous kitchen assistant Chippy. The machine designed to make tortilla chips in a fast and efficient manner. It proves that Chipotle is serious about advancing foodservice standards to meet the modern age.
Meati
Their second portfolio addition, Meati Foods, serves nutrient-dense whole-food products made from mushroom root. The mushroom roots used in Meati products are grown indoors year-round in an ultra-clean, pure environment. It is also unexposed to pollutants, pesticides, antibiotics, or growth hormones.
“We are excited to support new ways to bring vegetables to the center of the plate through plant-based alternative protein options that mirror Chipotle’s Food With Integrity standards,” said Garner. “Meati is producing responsibly grown plant-based protein that tastes delicious.”
“With their industry-leading commitments to sustainability and responsibly-raised ingredients, Chipotle is a like-minded leader in the movement to create sustainable food systems,” said Tyler Huggins, Co-founder, and CEO of Meati Foods. “Breaking ground on the Cultivate Next venture fund is an important signal of Meati’s industry leadership potential, and new investments like this will help us scale operations and our mission-driven team.”
Chipotle is known in vegetarian and vegan communities for its ever-expanding plant-based menu options. They offer a variety of plant-based proteins and sides including the latest menu addition, Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice released in January 2021. Skyrocketing sales of cauliflower rice allowed Chipotle to expand the menu item to 60 restaurants in Arizona, Southern California, and Wisconsin for a limited time.
Both these companies exemplify the Cultivate Now mission and will be first on the ticket of Cultivate Next’s $50 million early-stage seed funding. Cultivate Next will continue to select companies for funding until the end of 2023. Companies interested in collaborating with Chipotle through the Cultivate Next venture fund can apply by emailing cultivatenext@chipotle.com.